Clock.



No. 839,578. PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906: P. G. GIROUD.

CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16. 1906.

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PATENTED DEC. 25. 1906.

P. G. GIROUD.

CLOUK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1a. 1905.

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PETER G. GIROUD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

Application filed 8eptember 16, 1905. Serial Nu. 278,710.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER G. GIROUD, a

I citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to clocks, with the object in view of providin a clock in which the symbol indicating t e hour shall be brought into view at the be 'nning of each succeeding hour, while the minutes and fractlOIIIS of a minute may be read from a circular dia With these ends in view my invention consists in means for automatically jumping a dial-plate step by step at the eginning of each hour.

My invention further consists in a dial which shall ex ose the resent hour-symbol only and on w oh the fiactions of an hour may be read.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawin s, in whichigure 1 is a front view of so much of a clock as will suffice to disclose my present invention. Fig. 2 is a top Bplan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertlc section in the plane of the line A A of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical section in the plane of the line B B of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the position which the parts assume when the time is advanced toward a succeeding hour. Fig. 6 is a vertical section in the plane of the line C C of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a reverse view of the hour-dial late represented in front in Fig. 3. Fig. 8 1s a view in side elevation, and Fig. 9 is a partial vertical central section from front to rear.-

The face of the clock is denoted by 1. It is rovided with a circular dial-plate 2 of an we l-known or ap roved form, which diaplate is herein 3 own as subdivided into minute-s ces from zero u to sixty and may be rther subdivided 1nto seconds in the usual manner, if so desired.

In the face 1, and preferably at the top and centrally over the minute-space zero, there is located an opening 3, through which the symbol indicating hour is intended to appear. In the present instance the symbol appearing through the opening 3 is shown as 7 Behind the clock-faced there is located a series of symbols indicating the hours from one to twelve, inclusive. These symbols are here shown as formed on a thin circular disk 4 and at such radial distances from the center of the disks as to bring the symbols indicating the hour consecutively before the opening 3 in the clock-face when the disk 4 is rotated.

The central arbor is denoted by 5. It carries on its end in front of the clock-face 1 a hand 6 for indicating the number of minutes on the dial 2. The arbor 5 is provided back of the face 1 with a sleeve 7, on which the hour-disk 4,is looselymounted. For steadying the arbor I find it desirable to fix the rear end of the sleeve 7 in the downwardly-extending lip 8 of a bracket 9, made fast by a screw 10 to the frame-piece 11, the lip 8 being spaced from the face of the frame-piece 11 far enou h to locate a drive-pinion 12, carried by t e arbor 5 between the lip and the frame. f

The clock-face 1 is fixed to the frame piece or plate 11 by posts 13 in any well-known or approved manner, and the said frame iece or p ate 11, together with the sleeve 7, ed on the lip 8, serves as an extended bearing for the arbor 5.

The drive-pinion 12 meshes with a spurwheel 14, mounted on a stud 15, projecting from the face of the frame piece or late 11, the said spur-Wheel being provided with a series of plns 16, projecting from its face, in the resent instance three, as clearly shown in igs. 4 and 5. These pins located radi:

ally equidistant from the axis of the wheel act as cams for actuating a dog, as will be hereinafter explained.

. The pins 16 on the wheel 14 serve to trip the hour-disk-actuatin mechanism at intervals of one hour, as fol ows: From the back of the hour-disk pins 17 project, twelve in number and spaced equal distances apart, one for each hour.

A longitudinally-reciprocating pawl or drive-bar is pivoted at one end at 19 to the upper end of a vibrating'arm 20, the opposite end of the pawl or actuating-bar 18 being free to slide and move laterally in a bracket 21, fixed to the frame piece or plate 11. This pawl or actuating-bar 18 has a shoulder 22 at its extreme end to limit its movement in one direction and a shoulder 23 to limit its movement in the opposite direction. It also has a shoulder or nose 24 for engaging successively the pins 17.

To permit .the bar 18 to lift away from the pins as it is withdrawn for the purpose of en gagiin a succeeding pin and at the same time to hold it )ositive y in engagement with a 5 pin at and near the limit of its advance movement, I provide the said bar with an incline 25 in proximity to the shoulder 23, which will widen the barsubstantially to the limit of the slot in the bracket 21, through which it slides, while leaving the bar very "much less in width than the width of the slot throughout the portion from the incline 25 to thc shoulder 22 at its extreme end. This prevents the barfrom escaping from the pin Has it nears the limit of its advance movement, and so insures the full throw of the -'disk 4 to present-the hour plainly before the opening in the clock-face.

The vibratin arm is mounted on astud 20 26, projecting fiom the frame piece or plate 11 and is constantly pressed forward in a direction to =move the hour-disk 4 :by a :spring 27.

There is also mounted to swing, together with the vibratin arm 20, a dog 28, having a hooked end 29, t e outerface of the said hook'being in a position to engage the pins 16 i on the spur-wheel 14.

The relation between the s ur-wheel 14 0 and the dog 28 is such that as t e spur-wheel 14 is rotated toward-the left, as Figs. 4 and 5 are read, it will gradually slide-along the face 30 of the dog and crowd the=free end of the dog 28 back, thereby rocking the arm 20 on 5.its=support 26 and withdrawing theactuating-bar 18 into a position where it' will en- :gage a succeeding pin 17. lt-is shown apnproaching such: a-position in- Fig. 5. "This action of the dog '28 and lever 20-is against .0 the tension of thes ring 27,- andthe moment i the pin 16: asses't e end of the hook 29the dog 28 and the'lever20, together with the bar 18,. will be permitted to promptly spring forward under the tension of the-spring 27, 4 -aiid the bar 18 will carry with it the hourdisk 4 one s ace to present a new hour-sym- -bolbeforet 1e open-mg 3 in the clock-face.

" When the dog has sprung back into its po- -:sition, as shown in Fig. 4, 1t will"be possible 50 i to rotate the wheel 14 backwardly or in a direction to the right until the pin -16,previously engaged with the face of the dog, en- :gages the bottom of the bi ht on the hook, at which point the backwar turn of the wheel 5 .will be positively interrupted without derangement of any of the parts. This feature is of considerable importance, as it permits setting the clock backward past the hour position by turning the minute-hand without (io -deranging the 'proper succession of hoursymbols and positively determines the limit of such backward movement.

The hour-disk 4 is held. in its successive advance d positions by means of a retaining arm 0; or pawl 31, pivoted on a stud 32, projecting the teeth on the from the frame piece or plate 11 and pressed forwardly against two consecutive pins 17 by means of a spring 33. The blunt nose 34 of this retaining-pawl is normally seated between two consecutive pins, and the inclines leading to the apex of the nose 34 are such as to permit the pins to slide along its face without any serious interruption when the hourdisk 4 is forced forward by the bar 18.

The central arbor 5 extends through the frame-piece 11 to a second frame-piece 35, the piece 35 being connected to the piece 11 by means of posts 36, as is common.

Between the pieces 11 and 35 the powerapplying and escapement gear is located and may be of any well-known orapproved construction. In the present instance I have shown a spring-actuated lever 37 pivoted to a stud 38, on whiclr a ratchet-wheel 39 is loosely mounted, thelever 39 carrying a spring-actuated pawl 40 in position to engage periholy of the ratchetwheel and to slide ree y over the teeth when 'thelever 37 is swung in one direction and to causethewratchet-wheel to rotate when the lever is swung in the opposite direction.

There is mounted to rotate with the :ratchet-wheel39 a-spur wheel 41,-(see Fig.

6,) Which intermesheswith a spur-Wheel 42, fixed on the central arbor 5.

Communication from the wheel 42to a suitable escapement mechanism (not shown) en agement wit =45 emg rovided with a pinion48 in engageis made through a series of s ur wheels 43-44 45, the wheel 43 being provi ed with a pinion 46 in. engagement 1 with the -i wheel '42, the wheel 44 being provided with a pinion 47. in

thewheel 43-, and the wheel mentzwit the'wheel44.

' The lever 37 may be rocked either by-electricity orby a pendulum or other power, the particular means of rocking this power-lever forming no part of mypresent invention.

-In operation, assuming that the wheel 42, and hence the arbor 5, to be driven at minute intervals by .the action of the lever 37, the

minute-hand 6'w ill=be'm0ved*step bystep around the dial' 2 until sixty minutes have been recorded, at which moment a pin 16 on the wheel 14 will slip past the nose of'the dog 28, and the hour-disk 40 will be advanced to bring .the symbol indicating the next "succeeding hour before the opening 3 in the clocksface.

'The device is asimple one. It brings the hour plainly to the front withoutconfusion, while the number of minutes between consecutive hours may be read without the con fusion commonly incident to a multiplicity of pointers on theolock-face.

-In employing the word clock I wish to i be understood as including anyt'imepieceto which my invention. may be applicable.

It is evident that changes mightbe resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from thespirit 5 and scope of m y invention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the structure I herein shown and described; but

' What I claim is- 1. In a clock, means for imparting a stepby-step movement to a disk, comprising a spring-actuated vibrating lever, means for operating the lever, a fixed guide and a sliding bar pivoted to the lever and extending through the guide, the said her being provided with an abutment for engagin the art to be operated, with an incline forlioldmg the bar to its work and with shoulders for limiting the movement of the bar.

2. In a clock, the central arbor with a pinion, a wheel in gear with t and provided with laterally-projectin lprovid ed e pinion pins at intervals on its face, arock-shaft, a 00k- 20 lever fixedon the rock-shaft with its hooked I end in position to be engaged by the said pins to rock the shaft 9, second lever fixed to the rock-shaft, a dish on the central arbor and provided with pins projectinglaterally therefrom at intervals along its back, a fixed guide and a longitudinally-sliding bar held in the guide and pivotally secured to the said second lever, the said sliding bar'being provided With an abutment for engaging a pm on the disk, an incline for engaging the guide and with shoulders to'limit its sliding movements.

In testimon that I claim the foregoing as my invention have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 14th day of September, 1905.

PETER G. GIROUD.

Witnesses FREDK. HAYNES, HENRY THIEME. 

